Promising Results in Trial of Universal Flu Vaccine Candidate

An experimental vaccine designed to protect against many flu virus strains has yielded promising results in an efficacy trial. NIAID investigator Matthew J. Memoli, M.D., designed and led the trial, which involved administering one or two doses of the experimental vaccine or a placebo injection to healthy adults. All the volunteers were later exposed to a strain of seasonal influenza virus under carefully controlled conditions. The aim was to determine whether the experimental vaccine, FLU-v, lessened the chance that a volunteer would develop flu symptoms and viral shedding. Trial results were published March 13 in the journal npj Vaccines.